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Cramps every week... I'm getting a little frustrated.

It seems like every time I work out my lower body I have incredible soreness for days afterwords, but I've been doing this for months and months with no improvement in recovery times.

Example: I did a 6 move kettlebell circuit on monday that really kicked butt. Monday I was tired but fine, but for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I've had extreme soreness (minor cramping) in my hamstrings, inner thighs, and glutes.

It seems like I should get to a point where I'm not uber sore every week. This soreness really detracts from swing dancing and racquetball, so I'm looking for possible solutions.

Is this normal or am I missing something? I can't imagine doing crossfit 4 days a week if I always felt like this.

P.S. I follow a pretty strict primal diet, plenty of fat and protein, under or around 100 carbs. I stretch after workouts, and I do a lot of slow movement throughout the rest of the week.

I'm not sure if this would help, but you can try supplementing with branched chain amino acids (BCAAs). Since starting CrossFit, I've started taking BCAAs (10 g post-workout), but I'm not sure whether it's had an effect on reducing DOMS for me (delayed onset muscle soreness, which sounds like what you're describing). I haven't been incredibly sore recently, but that could be because I'm still doing the on-ramp sessions (i.e., beginners' classes).

You really shouldn't be experiencing DOMS at the same level if you've been doing these workouts for months. Do you only lift once a week? Because if that's the case, then it may not be frequent enough for your body to adapt. Maybe if you upped it to twice a week, it would improve. (I have no idea if this is true--I'm just making things up, but, in my experience, the more often I lift--up to a point, obviously--the less likely I am to be sore, and if I stop for a while--even if it's only a week--and then go back to it, I'll be sore again.) Also, do you do the same workout once a week, or are you cycling through a couple of different workouts. If cycling, then your body may not adapt as quickly (again, this is completely based on personal experience so take it with a grain of salt).

Another thing that could help with lower body soreness is recovery runs. Nice easy runs--two to three miles, shorter runs may work as well.

Comment

I can relate. When I started crossfit, I could barely move for 3 days following a workout. After months of this hell, I made two significant changes and the results are amazing. I am rarely sore now, and have increased my workouts to 4-5 x per week.

The changes I made:
1. :15 min before fasted workout, take 15grams of BCAA
2. The hour after your workout, take another 15 grams of BCAA
3. Remaining in a fasted state, take another 15grams of BCAA in the 2nd hour after your workout.
4. In the 3rd hour, post workout, begin your feeding window.
5. Lastly, I increased my protein from 50grams per day to 140-160 grams of protein every day (workout and non workout days).

Since making these changes, I can't believe the difference in recovery time. The odd time that I get sore, it is minor and I rebound from it pretty fast. I'm at the stage where I'll start doing two workouts a day within the next few months.

Comment

Hey guys, thanks for the info.
-I workout Lift mondays and fridays, and I pretty much switch back and forth between kettlebell circuits and body weight exercises.
-I will look into some BCAA's, I tried some GNC stuff for preworkout and it makes my whole body itch, so that's not fun...
-Can you recommend a relatively clean and affordable BCAA supplement
-I'll give running a try
-I do supplement magnesium on a daily basis, but not potassium, salt shouldn't be an issue.
-I'll definitely try upping my protein, but it seems impossible to eat any more, I'm trying to have a restricted eating window from around 4:00 - 10:00, with nothing but pure fats until that point.